


things you said

by CompletelyDifferent



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Prompt Fill, Recovery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-01
Updated: 2017-08-21
Packaged: 2018-07-28 16:12:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 3,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7647802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CompletelyDifferent/pseuds/CompletelyDifferent
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Those quiet moments, the little in-betweens, where you catch your breath and words hang in the air. </p>
<p>(Short one-shot prompt fills for a variety of pairings).</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. stars and grass (Rupphire)

**Author's Note:**

> Fills based on this Fic Prompt from Tumblr, mostly to get the creative juices flowing. And hey, if you see one you're interested in, feel free to toss one at me in the comments, and I'll try my hand at it :)
> 
> Prompt 1: _Ruby/Sapphire, things you said under the stars and in the grass_

“They’re so beautiful,” Sapphire said, staring up at the dark, sparkling sky.

“Not as beautiful as you,” Ruby said.

Sapphire laughed, her cheeks flushing a deeper blue. “Charmer,” she accused.

“I mean it,” said Ruby. “You’re more gorgeous than every star in Homeworld’s galaxy, put together. You really are.”

“So are you.”

And the pair knew, that as lovely as the stars were, they would trade them all for a chance to just to sit together, and keep holding hands. 


	2. after you kissed me (Pearl/Rose)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "Things you said after you kissed me", Pearl/Rose, with Pearl initiating the kiss. Maybe she got the idea from watching a human couple?
> 
> (Also, still totally down for prompts, if anyone wants to shoot them my way)

Rose loves watching the humans. Pearl doesn’t see the appeal.

They work. They talk. They hunt. They eat. Tiny trivial things. Nothing that catches her interest.

Until finally, something does.

From the trees, Pearl watches, curious. This is something different. This is something new. 

The humans finish. Their breathing is heavy, their faces flushed. They walk off through the forest, back to the village, hand in hand. Pearl waits for them to leave, then sets off to find Rose.

She’s not far. She’s sitting at the bank of a nearby river, tearing pieces off a loaf of bread she borrowed from the humans, and tossing them into the water, where the fish clamour for it. She looks up when Pearl approaches, smiling absently. Pearl’s core swells with a song. She’s so beautiful, so serene.

Pearl doesn’t hesitate. Walks right over, dips her head, and presses her lips against Rose’s just like the humans did.

At first, Rose is stiff with surprise. Then she leans forward, her huge, gentle hands wrapping around Pearl’s slender torso, her lips softening. Pearl’s eyes close, and she can think of nothing but warmth and safety all around her.

Finally, it ends. The two come apart, slowly, blinking.

“Well,” Rose said. Her eyes are glittering. “What was that?”

“I don’t know,” Pearl confesses. “Something I saw a couple of humans doing.”

Rose smiles. “Then we shall have to ask them,” she says. “But not before we try it again.”


	3. when you thought i was asleep (GregRose)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Greg/Rose, things you said when you thought i was asleep.

In the quiet moments– the long, hot afternoons at the beach, or the cool twilight evenings, or the still dawns– those times where Greg was almost, but not quite asleep, slipping in between the conscious and unconscious worlds, he'd hear her. Voice soft, melodious, almost like a dream. 

“You’re so _cute.”_

“I wish i could show you the stars you love so much.”

“What makes you think I’m so special?”

“I don’t deserve you.”

“I’m going to miss you.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m scared.”

Usually, Greg didn't answer. He didn't have the words. But at that, he opened his eyes. “Me too,” he said. He reached out a hand, and laid it on her swollen belly. “But that’s okay.”


	4. under and in (Pearl/Rose)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> pearlrose and "6. things you said under the stars and in the grass". (Which we did previously with Rupphire, but I'm not gonna argue. It's cute).

There was running, and there was laughter, giddy laughter, which bubbled up like water from one of this planet's many stream, flowing, light and bright and cheerful. 

Finally, the pair fell in an exhausted heap on the grass. Rose, with all her limbs splayed out, her white dress stained green. Pearl, half-buried in Rose’s pink hair, not caring at all.

The sky above them was dark. Partly because it was night, partly because of the heavy cover of clouds. Occasionally, though, they’d part, and they could catch a brief glimpse of the stars through them. 

“We did it,” Pearl said. Her face was flushed. “We really did it. We got out– we’re free!”

Rose kept her eyes trained on the sky, on the starlight just peeking through the cloud cover. A sharp reminder. Homeworld was still there, even if it was still out of sight.

“Not quite,” Rose said, pulling Pearl close. “But it’s a good start.”


	5. what happened? (LapiDot)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On ff.net I was given the prompt: _Lapis explaining what happened with Jasper to Peridot after she comes back to the barn and Peridot attempts to comfort her in her own way._

As soon as the Roaming Eye had taken off for the moon and disappeared out of sight, Peridot had rushed into the barn. Lapis had followed at a much slower pace, and by the time she’d gotten inside, found Peridot already busy constructing… something. What, exactly, wasn’t clear. It seemed to involve a stuffed corpse of some Earth creature, pinecones, nails, glue, and a generous amount of green and orange paint. Lapis leaned against the wall to watch her work.

After a frenzy of activity, Peridot finally took a step back to proudly survey her creation. Lapis surveyed it too, but with considerably more confusion.

“What is it?” Lapis asked.

Peridot jumped, flailing. Seemingly she’d forgotten the other Gem was even there. “A morp!”

“Clearly,” said Lapis. Knowing that her barn-mate’s morps tended to be highly symbolic, she asked, “What’s it about?”

“Ah… well…” Peridot hesitated.

That grabbed Lapis’s attention. Peridot _never_ hesitated. She could yammer on about her pieces for hours.

With more force, Lapis asked again, “What’s it about?”

Peridot fiddled with the paintbrush she was holding. “Er… um, I’m not… not sure if I should tell you.”

“ _What?_ ”

Peridot threw up her hands placatingly. “It’s not that I don’t _want_ to tell you!” she stuttered. “It’s just— well, it’s about the J-word!”

“What.”

“See?” Peridot said. Face scrunched up, she turned back to her sculpture. 

Lapis curled her fists and took another look at it. The dead Earth animal— a racoon, possibly, if she remembered correctly— had been covered in pinecone spikes and hay, then doused in orange paint. Green had then been splattered on top of the orange, and a nail had been thrust right through the animal’s chest. “What does _this_ have to do with Jasper?”

Peridot didn’t look at her. “Are you sure you want me to tell you?”

Lapis hesitated a moment. Then, “Yes.”

Peridot told her everything. Everything that had happened at the Beta Kindergarten. It came out in  a rush, words tripping over each other, but something coherent formed out of the jumble. Lapis let the words wash over her— prison, Jasper, fight, fusion, corruption—not allowing herself to react.

“So… yeah. That’s what this is about,” Peridot said, once she had finished her explanation. She watched Lapis nervously. “Are you okay?”

Lapis didn’t answer.

A few moments passed, then Peridot rephrased the question. “How’re you feeling?”

“I don’t know.”

Jasper was corrupted. Jasper was bubbled. Jasper was gone.

And Lapis didn’t know how to feel about that.

Peridot abandoned her paintbrush, and came to Lapis’s side, attempting to initiate an awkward back-patting. Lapis let her. It felt kind of nice.

They stood there for a while, not saying anything. There were no words they could say.

“If you would like,” Peridot said, “we could read the Camp Pining Hearts prequel novelisation. I am certain it will be fascinating to see how the story is adapted into another medium.”

Lapis took a shuddering breath, and unclenched her hands. “Okay,” she said. She turned her back on the sculpture. “Sure.”


	6. reach out (AmeDot)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On ff.net I was given this comment by an anonymous reviewer: "Could you please do one with Peridot and Amethyst both reaching for the tv remote and blushing? And then the awkward attempt at conversation afterward? Sorry its so cliche I just want to see it."
> 
> There ain't nothing wrong with cliches, so let's get into this...

It was all Steven’s fault.

A _Crying Breakfast Friends_ marathon: twenty new episodes in a single night. Even Amethyst, who could binge with the best of them, thought such a nuke was excessive, especially for a show as depressing as CBF. But she hadn’t had anything better to do, and Steven had been giving her the puppy-dog eyes, so she’d relented and agreed to watch with him.

Peridot hadn’t needed any convincing at all. She watched TV with a single-minded determination that was frankly impressive, and was always eager to experience new human media. Her enthusiasm had drained steadily away throughout the night, however, as she sailed through the sea of cartoon tears without catching even a glimpse of understanding. 

Steven had been rapt, however, face glued to the TV, and neither of them had had the heart to give up. They’d long since resigned themselves to their fate. Peridot was sitting with her knees pulled up to her chin, no longer attempting to decipher the show, and instead re-writing season five of Camp Pining Hearts in her head. Next to her was Amethyst, who’d slowly slumped into Steven’s side, falling into a sleepy stupor. 

A bright tune broke out, jerking Peridot and Amethyst into alertness.  They sagged when they realised it was just CBF’s disconcertingly cheerful ending theme. They were bracing themselves for Steven to launch into a gushing retelling of the episode, but nothing came.

Peridot looked at him sidelong. Amethyst, pressed against his side, listened intently. 

…was he asleep?

And if she moved, would he wake up?

Amethyst risked it. Her hand snaked out to grab the remote—

— and grabbed something else instead. Something soft, squishy, and suspiciously hand-shaped. 

Amethyst looked, and it was indeed Peridot’s hand under hers. Peridot had had the same idea as her, and grabbed the remote just a moment before. Amethyst let go quickly.

“Uh— do you want it?” Peridot stammered, pulling her hand back too. 

“No, no, you beat me to it, dude.”

“It’s your television—”

“It’s Steven’s, actually, so—”

Steven shifted a little, mumbling something in his sleep. The Gems froze. He didn’t wake up. However, the TV did happily inform them that there was an all new Crying Breakfast Friends “about to be served up”. Peridot and Amethyst’s gazes met. There was no time for this. No time for hesitation. 

Amethyst grabbed the remote. “You ever seen a nature documentary, Peri?”

“Does it have any crying in it?” Peridot asked drily.

“No. But it does have a lot of animals eating each other.”

“An interesting proposition.” Peridot nodded. “Let the ‘nature documentary’ commence.”


	7. improved (Pearl/Amethyst)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> saltyspacerock gave the prompt: _amethyst is feeling bummed about herself and Pearl tells her how she's improved as a person_.
> 
> And honestly, this is my jam.

Amethyst and Pearl liked to skip rocks together.

Well, only Pearl liked the actual _skipping_. She enjoyed seeking out the perfect rock, finding one flat and smooth and just the right aerodynamic shape. She enjoyed the sensation of the perfect wrist-flick. She enjoyed watching it fly across the water. She enjoyed counting each skip, striving to beat her previous best. (Which was currently seventy-nine).

Amethyst liked finding the biggest rock she could and throwing it as far as possible. She liked the splash.

Still, it was something they could do together, and in fact, it was one of the first things Pearl had ever taught Amethyst, before weapon summoning or dancing or even monster fighting. 

Amethyst had just found her next piece of ammo— a nice, weird looking boulder nearly as big as her head— and was getting ready to toss it when she noticed the background skipping sound had stopped. She turned to she what was up, only to discover Pearl watching her with the oddest smile on her face.

“What’cha looking at?” Amethyst said, suspicious.

“Oh, nothing,” said Pearl. She suddenly seemed a little… self-conscious, but still that strange smile remained. “Just thinking about how much you’ve grown.”

“I haven’t _grown_ at all.”

“Oh, I don’t mean physically. I mean internally.” Pearl made a waving gesture at Amethyst. “Thinking back to the little Gem we found in the Kindergarten, and now looking at you… It’s really something.”

“Oh. Uh. Thanks?”

Amethyst didn’t know what else to say, so she settled for throwing her rock.

She watched it sail over the waves until it was just grey dot which fell into the water with a distant, but satisfying, _sploosh_.

Pearl seemingly wasn’t done yet, though, because she came over and laid a light hand on Amethyst’s shoulder. “I truly mean it, Amethyst. Seeing you with Steven today, as Smoky… and the fight against Jasper…”

“I— ” Amethyst began, but couldn’t continue. All her fears, insecurities, guilts rose up, choking her. 

It must have shown on her face, because Pearl frowned. “Is something wrong?”

“I… I mean, it was nothing that great.” Amethyst hung her head, scuffed the sand with her foot. “It was Steven, mostly.”

“Oh, Amethyst.” Pearl put her hand under Amethyst’s chin, tugged on it so that she had to stare up into Pearl’s soft, bright face. “You were  _wonderful_. You’ve been so brave, and clever, and… and I’m so glad you’re here.”

Amethyst stepped forward, wrapping herself around Pearl’s waist in a sudden, fierce hug. “Same.”


	8. Grocery Shopping (Rupearl)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For the prompt from airamcg: Rupearl, grocery shopping

Garnet did not get poofed often.

At least, not since the early days of the war. Back when she’d still been getting her bearings, Garnet’s unending clumsiness had resulted in more than a few destroyed bodies. But as Ruby and Sapphire’s relationship had strengthened, and their experience as a fusion had lengthened, Garnet had reached a point where she was practically unstoppable.

But not _actually_ unstoppable. Sometimes a threat came along which was too much, even for her. Which was why Pearl found herself doing something she had not had to do for quite some time: distracting Ruby.

“We need… let’s see, milk, butter, and cream cheese. Steven likes the kind with the garlic in it,” Pearl read from the list.

Ruby just grunted in acknowledgement. Pearl leaned down to reorganise the items in the cart, both to improve symmetry and better fit the incoming items. Though, those incoming items seemed to be coming rather… slowly.

When Pearl turned around to find out why, she discovered Ruby practically _climbing_ up the freezer racks, one arm full of milk and butter cartoons, while the other reached desperately for the cream cheese, which was a good few feet above Ruby’s head. Ruby strained and strained, but it still remained stubbornly out of reach. “Just— come here— you _stupid food_!”

“It’s alright, I’ve got it.” Pearl easily plucked the cream cheese off the shelf.

“I had it!”

“Ruby—” Pearl began, but then she noticed the smoke rising from Ruby’s head. A moment later, she was hit with a wave of pure heat. “Not in here, Ruby, all the food will go bad—!”

“Everything’s _already bad_!”

It came out half-scream, half sob. The heat vanished as Ruby drooped, the food tumbling out of her hands onto the floor.

Pearl was at her side in an instant, crouched down low at eye-level. “That’s not true. Everything’s going to be fine.”

“She got cracked,” Ruby sniffed. “Garnet— _I_ — we let her get cracked. And then we poofed, and if— if—”

“Sapphire could have gotten very hurt. You both could have,” agreed Pearl, placing her hands on Ruby’s shoulders. Ruby wasn’t actively smoking anymore, but she was still hot enough that her skin was painful to the touch. Pearl didn’t draw her hands away. “But we protected you. We got you to safety. Steven healed Sapphire. She’s going to be perfectly fine.”

Ruby didn’t say anything. She was trembling.

So Pearl kept talking. “Sapphire’s always been a rather slow regenerator. Almost as bad as me. She’ll probably take a little longer this time, to recover from being cracked. But she will come back.”

“I know. I just— just wish I could See. That I could _know,_  for sure.” Ruby sniffed, burying her head into Pearl’s chest. “I miss her.”

“Me too,” said Pearl, holding her friend close. “But I’m glad you’re both safe.” She pressed a kiss onto Ruby’s forehead. “I’m glad you’re here.”

Ruby made a muffled sound into Pearl’s chest, and pressed in a little closer.

They stayed like that for a while— at least until a shopping cart rounded the corner, and the human steering it made a pointed cough. Pearl’s cheeks flushed, but she didn’t straighten. Yes, she knew they were blocking the aisle somewhat, but couldn’t the human see that they were in the _middle_ of something?

Ruby was the one who pulled out first. “Sorry,” she said to the human, picking up the food she’d dropped. She carried it towards their cart, and gave Pearl a brave, watery smile. “C’mon. We gotta go make sure Steven gets his dinner.”  



	9. i was asleep (Blue Diamond/Blue Pearl)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt from Luna: Blue Diamond/Blue Pearl, "things you said when you thought I was asleep".

The universe is broken.

There’s no other explanation. Something has gone  _ wrong _ . An error, a mistake, a flaw, a fundamental malfunction. There’s no other explanation for how this happened. Because this  _ can’t  _ be the way it was meant to be.

The universe is broken. Broken, just as broken as Pink Diamond, her shards glittering on the ground…

Blue Diamond wails and screams and thrashes and sobs.

None of her Court will see her. Her bodyguards flinch away when she passes. White holds her, and murmurs reassurances which don’t reassure at all. Yellow rages with her, and then at her. They both leave, eventually: so much to do, so much to do, they can stay and cry. They want her to stop crying, to do her job, her duty. Blue wants to stop crying too, but she can’t.

And Pink… Pink doesn’t come. She never will. 

The only one who stays at her side is her pearl.

Blue Diamond can do so little, so the pearl does them instead. She turns visitors away. She drafts messages. She runs errands. She keeps things running, as much as a pearl can.

She gives Blue Diamond company and comfort. Short songs. Light touches. Encouraging words.

Blue Diamond appreciates it, as much as she can appreciate anything right now.

There comes one of those times where she does not cry. Where it feels as though she has run out of tears. Where her inside feels hollow. Where she stares forward, blankly, not seeing anything. 

It is dead silent.

“It’s not fair,” she whispers.

No answer.

“ _ Not fair, _ ” she repeats. “To just… end her. To not even think twice. How— how could she be so cruel? So thoughtless?”

No answer.

And then, quietly, a reply: “What about the others?”

The already still Blue Diamond goes even stiller.

The sound was so quiet, so tiny, she wonders if she imagined it. But no, surely she is not so far gone that she is hearing things. She turns her head, slowly, to the only possible source of the noise.

Her pearl.

Pearls do not speak. They do not voice their own opinions. They should not have opinions of their own at all.

But this one did. And she voiced it. And now she stares up at her Diamond, trembling.

Clearly, the pearl did not think she would overhear.

“What do you mean?” Blue Diamond asks, mystified. “What others?”

The pearl says nothing.

“ _ What others _ ?” Blue Diamond demands.

“The— the other Gems, my Diamond,” the pearl stutters, her voice nothing but a whisper. “Pink Diamond’s Gems. They’ll be shattered. Is— is that fair?”

Blue Diamond hadn’t even thought of them. Hadn’t even considered.

She considers now.

It’s not comparable, of course. The lives of beryls and topazes and morganites and rhodonite and spinels and— _ of course _ — rose quartzes, are nothing compared to the life of a Diamond. To the life of Pink Diamond. Pink, so lovely, so sweet, so silly, so  _ young _ —

Blue tears herself away from those thoughts before she can begin crying again.

She focuses back on the others. They will be shattered. They will be ended too. She supposes that won’t be fair.

And Pink. Pink made them.

Pink Diamond may be broken beyond repair. But maybe some things can still be salvaged.

Blue Diamond wakes up. There is something she must do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll confess, I was incredibly uncomfortable writing anything for this pairing, because of the sheer uncomfortableness of the master/slave relationship between the two of them. So instead, I tried to focus on something about Blue Diamond maybe becoming a little less of an irremediably terrible tyrant, while giving BP as much agency as I could.


	10. Shooting Star (Mystery Pearl)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Promot: Mystery Pearl, 'Shooting Star', drabble

A warm breeze off the ocean, a dark sea and sky stretching out before them. Pearl sighed, deep and content, and settled in against Sheena’s soft bulk.

“Look,” her girlfriend said, pointing up. “A shooting star!”

“Yes,” said Pearl.

Sheena looked at her sidelong. “What? That’s it? No comment about how it’s _actually_ a rock burning up in the atmosphere?”

Pearl blushed. It was indeed the kind of comment she’d usually make, but… “I suspected you already knew.”

“True,” said Sheena. “But don’t let that stop you. I like it when you talk about space. You just seem to… glow.”


	11. odds and ends (gamethyst)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Gamethyst, odds and ends

“No… nah… nope… not that either…” 

Amethyst dug through her piles of stuff, throwing everything she found over her shoulder.

Steven had lost one of his toys in the bowels of her room. He claimed it was no big deal; Amethyst could tell he was lying. So she was gonna _find it_. 

“Missed something,” came Garnet’s voice from behind her.

“Yeah? What?” 

Amethyst turned, and was met with a kiss.

She blinked, blushed, and pushed Garnet off. “Not what I’m looking for.”

Smirking, Garnet opened her hand, to reveal the missing Adventure Gal.

“Dork,” Amethyst laughed, and kissed her back. 


End file.
